Jake Gyllenhaal Passes on Suicide Squad - Here's Who We Want To See Play Rick Flag

Warner Bros. Suicide Squad movie has just been dealt another crushing blow, this time by Jake Gyllenhaal. After Tom Hardy dropped out of the movie, Gyllenhaal had been widely expected to replace the Brit as Suicide Squad's Rick Flag, but last night the news dropped that, for reasons not yet known, Gyllenhaall had passed on the opportunity. It leaves David Ayer in a tight spot with an incomplete cast and an August 2016 release date looming, but there are still plenty of options out there for the Rick Flag role. Here are a few potential names that we think could fill the Hardy/Gyllenhaal void...

Joel Edgerton

Edgerton has proven his diverse acting chops over the years. Between kicking ass in 'Warrior' to starring as Ramses in Ridley Scott's 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' and playing a 1920's Millionaire in 'The Great Gatsby', it would seem that Edgerton can look at home in a wide variety of roles. He's certainly got the Rick Flag look, and I can't help but feel it's one that comes at a great stage in his career, especially considering the majority of his 2015 projects have wrapped production already.

Tom Cruise

It's an action movie that will likely involve a number of explosions, ergo Tom Cruise's name should never be far from the list, especially given his performance in last year's brilliant 'Edge of Tomorrow/Live.Die.Repeat'

Karl Urban

This may be a bit of a stretch given Urban's commitments on Star Trek 3, but I challenge anyone who has seen Dredd to argue that Urban wouldn't be great for this role.

Idris Elba

I know Idris gets linked with just about every role going in the comic book movie universe, but I would absolutely love to see him play Rick Flag in Suicide Squad. We saw Elba play the global patriot rather well in Pacific Rim, and we know his talents extend far beyond that. This would be a dream casting.

Kurt Russell

Ok, another long shot. But let's just say that if Warner Bros. and David Ayer wanted an older, more war-weary version of Rick Flag, Kurt Russell would be your guy.

Finally, Sam Worthington would be another fantastic option, but I would imagine that his exploits on Pandora in James Cameron's Avatar sequels will probably rule him out of a 5 movie commitment to Warner Bros. and DC Comics.

Who would you like to see take over the role of Rick Flag? Let us know below...